A 33-year-old Kansas City woman and a 36-year-old Grandview woman are facing federal charges after a grand jury accused them of securing fraudulent pandemic relief loans. Alyshia Smith and Michelle Green were charged in separate sealed indictments made public this week, according to federal prosecutors.
Smith is accused of receiving more than $20,000 in a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan, while Green is accused of receiving nearly $35,000 from two fraudulent PPP loan applications, per the indictments cited by KCTV. Both women were indicted by a federal grand jury, and the indictments were made public this week, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The PPP loans at the center of both cases were issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the CARES Act program Congress created early in the pandemic to keep small businesses afloat.
Both women face federal charges. According to the indictments, Smith is accused of receiving more than $20,000, while Green is accused of receiving nearly $35,000 from two PPP loan applications. The allegations illustrate that pandemic-loan applications can lead to criminal charges.
A Ten-Year Window for Prosecutors
A Ten-Year Window for Prosecutors Federal prosecutors have an unusually long legal runway to pursue these cases. Under the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act, signed into law in August 2022, criminal charges involving PPP loan fraud carry an extended 10-year statute of limitations, according to law firm Nixon Peabody LLP. The law gives prosecutors a 10-year period in which to bring such charges.
The Smith and Green indictments arrive amid a broader federal effort to prosecute pandemic-relief fraud. The cases involve alleged fraud tied to COVID-19 relief programs.
New Federal Division Driving the Push
The Department of Justice formally established its National Fraud Enforcement Division in April 2026, the department said. The Trump administration has pursued many federal fraud cases as part of that push.
The Smith and Green indictments come as federal authorities continue to pursue alleged pandemic-relief fraud. Separately, another federal case involves alleged misuse of pandemic assistance programs.
A National Reckoning Over Pandemic Aid
The scale of the problem federal investigators are still untangling is staggering. A June 2023 report by the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General estimated that more than $200 billion — roughly 17% of all disbursed COVID-19 emergency relief funds — went to potentially fraudulent applications nationwide, underscoring the potential scale of fraud in emergency relief programs.
The Smith and Green indictments are among the federal pandemic-fraud cases being handled in Missouri. The allegations remain unproven, and no trial dates have been announced. As with all federal indictments, both women are presumed innocent unless and until prosecutors prove the charges in court.
